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Railroad carloads — excluding intermodal — fell 12.1% to 241,682 units for the week, AAR said in its weekly report.

Weekly carload volume on eastern railroads fell 12.3%, while those in the West fell 12% compared with the same week last year.

Petroleum product shipments rose 53.6% from a year ago.

Railroad volume is considered an important economic indicator. Intermodal traffic, which tends to be higher-valued merchandise than bulk commodities, uses trains for the long haul and trucks for shorter distances at either end of the trip.